Intensity of Reaction

Sometimes I will present a scenario to Itay Gil and I will say, well what about this situation? and in rare cases he will simply say, "You are screwed". Of course this is extremely rare but the point is that in reality there are some situations where it is nearly impossible to have a specific pre determined technique available.

The fact is that even in situations where you do have a specific pre determined technique; it might not, in fact probably will not, work out exactly as you practiced it in the dojo or gym. That is the reality of life, Sxxt happens.

So what is our answer?

I recall a belt test where one student received the 'outstanding student award'. His technique was not flawless but his intensity of reaction was. No matter what the situation – he did something, he reacted. Itay noticed this and recognized his efforts because that is what one will encounter in reality. So the question we must ask ourselves is – what will you do when the technique does not flow perfectly? What will you do when the situation is not what you expected? The answer is in your training, your intensity of reaction.

This particular student treated his belt test as real life. If something did not work, he just reacted and did whatever came to mind. As Shigeru Oyama says, "Intensity is more important than technique."

In Krav Maga we assume the worst; we train to function in chaos. We sprinkle elbows and knees into all our situations because these simple gross motor techniques will serve us well no matter what. We train to react with intensity, because that is what will work in a real situation.